Image: Octopi Media.

Extending his undefeated streak to 18 consecutive motos, Jett Lawrence further etched his name into Pro Motocross Championship history at the 2023 Honda Unadilla National as he clinched the 450MX title in his first season racing in the premier class.

Challenges from Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) and Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) ensured the first moto of the day at Unadilla was a tense one, however it was still Lawrence out front at the conclusion of 30 minutes and two laps.

Though Lawrence ultimately held the lead from the gate drop through to the checkered flag, Sexton kept his teammate within sight all moto long and even nearly completed a pass on Jett’s inside in the early going.

After the two made light contact navigating the heavily rutted track and challenging lapped riders, Sexton stalled his bike and was forced to catch Lawrence again. He steadily made up ground but took a new line to avoid lappers into a corner and found himself suddenly on the ground, with his spinning rear wheel landing on his right arm.

Sexton’s Alpinestars jersey was torn and Ferrandis snuck by into second, but the reigning Monster Energy Supercross 450SX champion remounted and held on to finish third in the moto.

Ferrandis charged dangerously close to Lawrence’s rear wheel in the closing moments but settled for second, 1.69s in arrears of the No. 18 Honda CRF450R as his time ran out.

Adam Cianciarulo was the frontmost Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, especially after his teammate Jason Anderson hit the ground in the second turn. Cianciarulo finished fourth ahead of Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) in fifth. Garrett Marchbanks (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha) held second in the early going and finished sixth, ahead of Harri Kullas (BBL Racing Yamaha), Phil Nicoletti (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), Ty Masterpool (HBI Racing Kawasaki), and Bryce Shelly (Yamaha).

Justin Barcia’s return to competition with TLD Red Bull GasGas began with a 40th-place result following two crashes, including one in the first-turn that caused a lengthy mechanics area visit while his GasGas team removed his damaged clutch lever. Also of note, Anderson charged into the top 10 after his high-speed crash at the start, but fell again en route to finishing 14th.

Matching his number with an 18th consecutive moto win out of 18 opportunities thus far in the Pro Motocross Championship season, Lawrence captured the 2023 450MX title two rounds early by ending the day at Unadilla 103 points clear of Ferrandis in the standings.

Sexton seemed poised to challenge Lawrence at the front in the first laps following the moto two gate drop, as the Honda duo lapped the extremely rutted Unadilla track with care at first.

Perhaps nursing a sore arm following his crash in moto one, Sexton lost touch of the 20-year-old rookie leading, ultimately taking the checkered flag second, 9.209s back from Lawrence who had already begun an emotional championship celebration with members of his team.

Ferrandis ended the moto third, 24.61s in arrears of Lawrence at the checkers.

Anderson improved from his frustrating first moto to finish fourth in moto two ahead of Plessinger in fifth. Cianciarulo turned a top-three start into a sixth-place result in the race, ahead of standout starter Kullas plus Masterpool, Freddie Noren (Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki), and Marchbanks in the top 10.

The penultimate round of the 2023 Pro Motocross season is next, scheduled for August 19 at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland. With the championship confirmed to be off the table, Sexton, Ferrandis, and the remainder of the 450MX will aim to break up Lawrence’s undefeated season in one of the four motos that remain.

Detailed results